Waiting
by Coz
Summary: [Complete] She waits... Part three: Their Fate. (Definately complete this time!)
1. Waiting

**For some reason, the other day I was thinking about the Guinness advert from a few years ago with the surfer and horses in the waves (it's a really cool advert for those who haven't seen it) and the bit about waiting really stuck in my head and then this idea came along and so I was forced to write it. My muse really can't let an idea go. **

**It's really different to anything I've ever written, the length for one, at one page, it's easily the shortest thing I've ever written. **

**Thanks to Naliza, for the beta and the wonderful words of support!! **

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**Anyway, I'm going to stop talking about it and let you read it…**

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Waiting

She waits.

Time slowly passes by. The hands of the clock crawl on their slow march around the face. The ever-progressing time taunting her, advertising every second that she's safe and he isn't.

Six hours, that's three hundred and sixty minutes or twenty one thousand and six hundred seconds since she had been forced to leave him behind. That's wrong, she corrects herself, since she left him behind, there was no force involved.

She broke his first rule; nobody gets left behind. She deserted him, she left him to who knows what.

And she can't go back to fix it, she's not allowed to go back and fix it. It's one thing that she can't sort out with science but she needs to sort this out. She can't let this go down as being one of her failures, as being a tragic misfortune, she just needs the opportunity to put it right but that is being denied.

'Impossible' and 'suicide mission' were words that had been bandied around like they would dissuade them, dissuade her.

Nothing could dissuade her, not this time. No rules, no ranks, she doesn't care. She's already broken the most important rule so a few more don't matter to her.

She can't stop thinking. Thinking of what she did and what she can do to make it better. The plan takes her another half an hour, another thirty minutes, another one thousand and eight hundred seconds of safety for her and not for him.

And then she arrives, offering platitudes, sensitive advice and the observations that can only come from a best friend. She doesn't understand and she can't begin to, she accepts it when she's fobbed off and she leaves her alone.

Alone to contemplate what's happened and what she's about to do, what's she's about to throw away. The calm, friendly talk has only served to make her more determined in her course of action.

She's ready to go, alone if necessary but she knows that there are two people who she can recruit for this mission. The two people who understand what happened, who understand why he can't be left behind. Two people who, like her, have and will risk their lives to save his because he has risked his for them before.

She's about to find them, tell them of her plan, when he flies into the lab at break-neck speed, followed by the third of the group at a more sedate pace. They have a plan of their own, she knew they won't leave him behind either. After five long minutes they know what they are about to do, the three hundred seconds that pass allow them to plan what will happen in detail. The inevitable consequences aren't discussed, they don't care.

And so she finally stops waiting.

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**So, very different to my normal stuff and so I'm more eager than normal to know what you think. **


	2. Waiting: His Fate

**I hadn't really intended to do a sequel to 'Waiting' and so in true me fashion I went and wrote two, so thanks to Crimson Regret and Dark Faith5 for planting the seed in my mind and to everyone else who reviewed the story.**

**Big thanks and hugs to Naliza, for the beta and everything else you've done for me.**

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Waiting: His Fate

She waits.

He's back now but still she is forced to wait. They proved them all wrong and brought him home, it had not been the suicide mission it had been deemed. All four members of SG-1 were home.

But she knows that while he may be safe he isn't out of danger. His life hangs in the balance, she watched as the surgeons rushed him into the operating theatre, to repair his more serious injuries. But she worries that he may be beyond their aid, she saw his injuries. She knew that he had been clutching onto life but also that it had been slowly slipping from his grasp.

She waits for news, the relief that accompanies the decree of life or death. She wants this decree, she needs this decree but at the same time anticipates its arrival with dread. She can't predict the outcome and this scares her.

The possibility of his death also scares her, she can't imagine what it would be like without him around, his irreverent humour, quips and sarcastic wisecracks. She recalls the times she had spent here waiting, the times she has been met by good news but she fears that this time it may be different. If it is going to be bad news she knows that it will be permanent, there can be no reprieve, not this time.

She looks up and sees them, they are both deep in thought and don't notice her movement. She knows their thoughts, their fears because they are the same thoughts and fears that haunt her.

As he removes his glasses and rubs his eyes in a gesture that shows his tiredness, she meets his gaze and offers a weak smile, which he returns. The moment passed and they return to their own thoughts, their own small worlds.

She glances at her watch and immediately regrets it, the hands moving achingly slowly, every second seeming to take a minute to pass. She forces her eyes away from the watch and down to her feet, concentrating on the black leather of her boots and smooth concrete of the floor.

But suddenly they hear her enter, she's raking her fingers though her hair and looks exhausted. They shoot to their feet and approach her. The need for news is overwhelming but so is the dread inside her.

She sees the faintest smile from her friend and in that instant she knows that he is alive. She smiles as this is confirmed, they know that there is still a way to go but they also know that he will not give in easily.

The news received, their actions justified, an absolution received.

And so she finally stops waiting.

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**So there's the first sequel, the second 'Their Fate' will follow shortly. I'd love to hear what you think of this!!**


	3. Waiting: Their Fate

**As promised here is the second sequel, 'Their Fate'. I hope it's in a timely enough fashion for you, do I get computer chocolate Mara Jade?? Please?? :D**

**Thanks to Naliza, beta extraordinaire. **

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Waiting: Their Fate 

She waits.

He's back and he's alive but still she is forced to wait. With his fate determined, she now had to wait for theirs to be decided. They knew the consequences when they went, they knew what they could lose and they didn't care.

She still doesn't care, she s aware of what she did and would do it again in a heartbeat. If she ever gets the opportunity to do it again but he is safe and that is what's important.

She knows that they feel the same, the man is more important than the rules and regulations. And in her heart she knows that the man on the other side of the door feels the same way but he is bound by the regulations much more than she ever is. He couldn't help before and may not be able to help now. He holds their futures in his hands, he holds the power and shows it by making them wait.

She shoots to her feet as he enters, she appears the perfect soldier but she is aware of his transgression and will accept his punishment without question.

She listens as he shouts, ranting over the foolishness of their dangerous actions. She agrees as he reminds her of the regulations they have broken, the lives they risked. She nods as he threatens to end her career. She defends her actions as he asks her to speak. She doesn't apologise, she isn't sorry.

Finally, she thanks him as he doesn't punish them further. She smiles as he tells them that he understands, that given the choice, he would do the same. With sincerity, she agrees as he implores them not to repeat their actions, no matter what the circumstances. But deep down inside there is something that is telling her that she would do it again if the situation warranted it but she keeps that to herself, he doesn't need to be told.

With their fate determined along with his. She, like the others, can finally stop waiting.

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**So there's the whole thing done and dusted, any feedback?**


End file.
